Avatar: Zukox(M)Reader, Lay Me Down
by compactdisc66
Summary: Zuko in a romantic relationship with a male reader.
1. Chapter 1

_"_ _You imagine it just as it is to begin with, a cloud. Then it shapes itself into whatever your mind's eye sees."_

 _Lu Ten pointed into the sky, his head pushed close to mine. I relaxed and did as he said- the white puffy spots in against the infinite blue are only clouds. Just clouds._

 _Suddenly, it became more than a cloud._

 _I sat up off the ground quickly, panting as tears came to my eyes. My father's pained face was etched back into my head as he covered my mother in their burning house, in a desperate attempt to protect her from a Fire Nation warrior. I_ hated _crying in front of Lu Ten about these things, because he always felt partially responsible and it made him sad. I picked furiously at the grass and wrestled with my tears, unable to keep a few back._

 _I felt Lu Ten sit up beside me. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Iwa," he whispered. I just leaned into him, reveling in the nickname and the resonance in his voice and his warmth. "I'm very sorry. My father is very sorry. We'll care for you…" The Fire Nation General's image surfaced in my distraught thoughts. Pleasant. Cheerful. But his eyes sometimes revealed the burdens that war places upon a man. He gladly and without question accepted me, an earth bender and a useless child, as a servant into his household._

 _Even though he led the attack that killed my whole village, I could see the pure intention and the remorse in his heart. I could also see it in his son, when he found me nearly crushed beneath the beams of my fire-lit house. I remember his hand reaching out to me, the same hand comforting me now in this embrace…_

My eyes shot open. The bright blue sky and neon-green grass were replaced by a stone roof and a rock-hard bed. The small barred window at the top of the wall revealed that it wasn't yet light out. I sat up anyways, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and sighing heavily. Of all the memories turned to dreams, that one makes me the saddest. I pushed off the bed and opened the chest nearby to put on my everyday clothes in the dark. There's no need to waste a candle if I'm leaving soon. And besides, the landlady in the ground-floor home above me complains about the light this early in the morning.

When they heard my quiet movements, the stray cats in the next alley sauntered up to the bars of the window, greeting me with soft purrs and winking faces. I smiled and shook my head as I poured some milk into the usual small bowl and pushed it through the bars for them. After pulling the non-shaved half of my hair into a loose ponytail, I climbed up the few steep stairs to the small trapdoor that led to the outside of the earthen house, right by the cats. No one else was yet awake. I could feel it from the chill in the air, the silence of the night, the lightless streets. If I focused extremely hard, I was able to hear the soft heartbeats of everyone sleeping safe in their houses. They all breathed as one, which I found unsettling. Like one giant machine.

I walked slowly through the shadows to the fruit stand. Nirou didn't like it when I came too early. He felt like I was rushing him. Of course, he never said this to me. He was too polite. But I sensed it. So I meandered my way through the empty streets, earth bending the scattered dust-like particles on the street into small dust clouds. It's something I've been practicing- precision, that is. Controlling the smallest pieces of earth. Because I'd noticed that my bending was choppy and sloppy, uneven. I'd almost fixed it: I could concentrate on bending small particles by themselves, but it was hard to remember them when bending large earth.

By the time I made it to the stand on the other side of Ba-Sing-Se, the sun was just rising. I approached the only light on the street, where the sounds of grumbling and unhappy grunting could be heard. A slightly overweight man in his late 50's shuffled out of the back of the tent, a heavy crate of apples in hand. I quickly took them from him and set them on their designated table. "Ah, Iwa-" His yawn cut off the rest of his sentence. I nodded in return, going into the back to grab the next crate. "The first three orders are ready to go, though I doubt any of the recipients are awake yet."

I again went into the back, this time to grab three sacks of fruit to sling over my shoulder. After smiling briefly at Nirou, I set out down the road, watching other vendors groggily begin their day. Chouko, the daughter of the wicker worker, waved at me as I passed. I winked, and she rolled her eyes before getting back to work taking care of her younger brother. Half an hour later when the sun has awoken the citizens, I reach my first destination.

"Ms. Hachiko!" I whisper-shout into the open doorway. I don't understand Hachiko. For one, she never talks- well, not to me anyways. Only to herself. And she always tries to feed me. I'd be stupid not to take the food, of course (it's more recently becoming hard to come by). But I have no idea why she gives it to me. I knocked twice on the doorframe, careful not to step onto the freshly-swept floor. The single window allowed a little light into the dark interior. I just barely saw her hobble in from the back room, flashing her gums at me. She muttered something about food and headed for the cabinet. I slid my shoes off and walked barefoot under the roof, placing one of the sacks on the counter gently. She patted my hand a moment before stuffing it with bread and cheese and a few coins, then pulled me in for a kiss on the cheek before shooing me out the door again.

I gave her a small smile back, chuckling as she threatened to slap me when I didn't put my shoes on fast enough. "Such a nice boy…" I heard her whisper to herself as she headed back inside.

I crossed the street through the now bustling crowd to the herbal shop. A black-haired boy with pale skin and the brightest green eyes I've ever seen quickly left the customer he haggled with to come greet me. "Iwa! Thanks for the groceries. Early, as usual." He leaned in to heft the bag from my arms, his breath warm against my neck. Sometimes I wondered why he got so close. Though physical touching wasn't really my thing, his proximity wasn't exactly… disliked. I watched as he bustled about, putting the fruit in the back and trying to sell the goods and attempting to maintain a conversation with me all at once. I helped make a few of his sales while he was busy. "The 'rents are out shopping, so I'm holding down the fort right now. They're talking about a new tea place coming in soon. That means more business for us, right? So my parents have to go give the buyers of the place our information and talk up our herbs-"

Little did I know that the subject of Rin's mindless chatter would actually be the biggest change of my life.


	2. Chapter 2

Nirou closed his shop on Friday and Saturday to visit the inn he bought out last season behind the 2nd gates. This meant I had to work another job, which was currently tending to some older couple's farm outside the wall. Nobody enjoyed venturing out since A. the wall was being drilled into, and B. Fire Nation warriors littered the outside waiting to catch some unfortunate traveller or an unsuspecting kid playing hookie. I can take pretty good care of myself, so it doesn't bother me too much- at least not enough for me to pass up the money.

That is the reason I had slipped out the far side of the front gate, bending myself a tunnel through the long expanse of rock to the right of the main entrance. It was completely dark until I pushed through to the last of it, revealing rocky desert-like plains. I closed the entrance behind me, careful to make it just as rough and rocky as the rest of the mountain's surface. Ever since I had started practicing precision in my bending, I found it was hard for me to control said precision. After a few frustrated minutes of trying to perfect the rock face, I gave up and headed for the farmland, avoiding the sight of the drill. The farm was only a few minutes away, surrounded by a high wall. I bended through it and headed straight for the shed at the far wall, grabbing the plough. The sun beat down heavily on my back as I removed my shoes and pulled my pants legs up, revealing the scarred flesh underneath. My eyes had learned since long ago not to rest on the disfigured red skin for longer than necessary.

After taking my shirt off and sticking it into my loose pocket, I hefted the plough and began to work at one end of the contained area, making sure to get all of the previously ploughed land. All grain from the last reaping had been stored somewhere nearby- a place secret to the owners so that it couldn't be stolen, which is understandable considering the number of thieves in the area. I suspect it's somewhere beneath the shed, but it's none of my business.

This kind of work is one of my favourite. Mind-numbing and repetitive. The owners were not benders of any kind, so they were happy to have an earth bender to speed it up. They even offered to pay me more when they found out I could do it twice as fast. Unfortunately for me, the money per hour raised because of my bending, but I performed the task in half the time. So I'm getting the same amount of money anyways- six pieces per hour for about six hours. The day was half over by the time I had finished, wiping the sweat from my brow. I put the supplies away, clothed, and left through the wall, closing it behind me again. As I travelled through the rock face back into the city, I passed the spot I had met the sky bison. Never in my life did I think there was any chance that I would see a live one. But here he was, thin and malnourished and dehydrated and in need of a good bath. He had some sort of crash landing into the rock face, at first completely unaware that I was standing tense and still a few yards away. When I inched closer to him, his eyes opened but he seemed too weak to do anything but blink angrily at me. I let him sniff my hand, reaching a cautious arm out in front of his nose. After he sniffed half-heartedly, I created a cave in the rock and shifted the earth beneath him to guide him into its shade. If I knew anything about the air benders, it was that they were vegetarians. So I bought some apples from the market with my emergency savings and carried them back to the cave with a large jug of water balanced on my head from one of the public wells. He munched all twenty apples down in minutes, and the water in seconds. While he ate, I bended all the dirt from his fur and did my best to comb the rougher parts out with my fingers. The sun had gone down, but I didn't want to light a fire for fear of being seen: this was three days ago, two days after the fire nation drill was spotted. He didn't seem to mind though, and after a while of silent combing, he yawned, stretched, and pulled my body into his tight embrace like we were lifelong friends. I wasn't complaining. It's warm and soft- better than the bed in that basement I call home.

However, in the middle of the night he jumped up, like he could hear something. He scratched at the wall, roaring to be let out. I bended the rock and he flew out into the night, leaving me to wonder where the heck he could have been summoned to at this early hour.

Once inside the first wall again, I headed to the tea shop to help Rin carry some crates of tea pouches to the updated restaurant. They had apparently been doing very well since the new employees were hired. They must have liked what Rin's parents presented them, because they ordered quite a large supply of their products. I'd be paid a nice three pieces for it, too, which is always a bonus. People were out and about, filling the streets to the brim as I tried to push through them. Finally I was only yards away from the stand, winded from pushing against the crowd. Rin's eyes lit up when he spotted me, and he reached out a hand that I desperately grabbed for to yank me into the store. "Thanks," I managed through short pants.

"No problem." He pointed to a stack of crates and picked up another, placing them on his head. "We can get there in about thirty minutes, if we push real hard. The old man's basically taken over that shop, even though it's still owned by Taku. I met him yesterday. He seems like a pretty chill guy, although his son looks like he might have had a bad run-in with the fire nation."

I followed in suit, balancing the crates on my head to keep them above the crowd. The sun was just as brilliantly blinding inside the wall as outside, I noticed while we walked. Accidental shoves caused me to nearly drop the boxes, but years of experience helped me steady my feet. I followed Rin's crates above the mass of people until he slowed down in a side street off the southern square, turning to search for me. Soon I caught up and he took me into an alleyway past the tea shop I assumed we were going to. "He said to come through the back," he explained. He struggled to find a free appendage to knock with but sent me a grateful glance when I bended a rock to do it for him. The door opened moments later, but Rin blocked my view of the inside.

However, I had only to hear his voice to know who he was.

"Ah, thank you! I am happy to finally have some good tea leaves. The previous ones were old and dry- not at all the recipe for perfection! I have been _dying_ to get my hands on some fresh leaves!"

I froze for about a moment. Rin had moved from the doorway so that inside I could see a boy about my age leaning against a counter of rock. A large burn stretched across an eye, puckered and flaming red. I would know that face anywhere. One pale, as the skin of royalty should be, and hardened into a look of constant suspicion. The little servant earth kingdom boy in me almost backed away with my eyes downcast, but I caught myself just in time.

My feet continued in through the doorway, my heart thumped rapidly against my chest. The hesitation lasted only a split second, but I could tell by the way his shoulders tensed and his neck stiffened that he saw it. I felt suddenly so claustrophobic. The banished prince of the Fire Nation and the retired General Iroh in a 3rd rate, tiny, half-assed tea shop like _normal_ freaking people. It took everything in me not to have a heart attack, and I tried not to look up at the general. If I did, I knew I would give everything away, though I looked quite different from when I last saw him.

Ignoring the glare from the prince, I stared at the floor and followed after Rin, setting the crates down by his own. From this angle, I could see the general's feet through his sandals. My hands shook and I felt very lightheaded. Memories threatened to resurface and break my calm façade.

I remembered to breathe. Rin had been making small talk with the general- THE GENERAL, for Ko's sake! Small talk with General Iroh! I was too afraid to speak, too afraid to look up at the man I ran from years ago.

"May I ask your names?"

I tensed again. Rin took no notice of my panic and chattered on politely. "I'm Rin of the Earth Kingdom, and this is Iwa of the Southern Earth Kingdom colonies." Rin and his stupid big mouth and his polite manners and his ignorance, and I knew I shouldn't be blaming him for something he didn't know about, but I couldn't help it.

There are probably a million Iwas in the Earth Kingdom alone. There's no way for him to tell that it's me, if I just act calm. My brain quieted, shutting down temporarily to remain collected. I could look up into the general's eyes now. They were older, wiser, their amber tone a little darker than I last remembered. Still short and stout as ever. However I kept all recognition imperceptible.

He, on the other hand, didn't bother to hide his curiosity. The eyes lit up a moment as his gaze fixed on me. I'm sure I looked quite different with my shaved temples and my now much darker complexion. His eyes darted down, widening considerably before looking back up. I was very confused as to what he was searching for, but then I realized: the pants legs cut off slightly above my ankles, where my burns would be showing.

I felt the blood drain from my face. Quickly I placed a light hand on Rin, who turned to look at me questioningly. "I have another job," I lied, and he knew it. But he must have sensed my unease, because he smiled and waved me off, promising to see me later.

And I rushed out of that back room like it held the plague, as fast as my twisted, knotted, fused leg muscles would allow me.


	3. Chapter 3

It's been several days since my encounter with the General and the Prince. Though I tried my hardest to just put them out of my mind, I found myself wondering why they were dressed as commoners in Ba-Sing-Se posing as tea shop workers. The Prince's quest assigned by the Firelord to find the avatar was well-known, but I wasn't sure how going under-cover would help in any way.

I shook my head for the thousandth time that day, forcing the thought down. Just scrub these floors like you're supposed to. It's not like you're ever ever EVER going see either of them again- at least not on purpose. Water pooled around my bare feet and knees as I sponged the dirt and grime off of the marble floor of the otherwise-pristine house of the 3rd ring. It's only for jobs like these that I was allowed to visit the upper rings, but I'm not complaining as long as I get paid.

"Iwa! I didn't expect to see you today." I glanced up from the gorgeous gold-and-white tiles across the ostentatiously furnished room to the door, where Chouko stood in a long white robe, her black hair pulled back into a professional bun. She was careful to stay by the door and not step on the gleaming marble. "Taru's session is almost done, so I'll be leaving soon. Will you wait for me by the gate?"

I sent a smile and nodded, wiping my brow and making sure my pants stayed pulled up above the knees. "This is the last room," I called back to her. "I have to see Mika before I leave, but I'll meet you there."

She grinned and exited through the gold-encrusted door. She works as a chiropractor and a tutor on the side. Most of her work involves massaging and/or a lot of cracking noises- which I have had the pleasure of experiencing once for free. At first I thought she was making it up. Then she cracked and popped between so many of my bones that I started to really hope she knew what she was doing. The only reason she stayed down in the outer ring is because her parents stayed there with her little brother, refusing to leave their wicker shop to go live with her. She recommends me for jobs in the higher rings because, no matter what the jobs are, they pay more.

I wrung the cloth out over the bucket and stood, tiptoeing against the wall to the doorway carefully. Before I could slip out, a woman blocked the door and peered inside. "Well, I see Chouko has not let me down. What a wonderful job you've done! Would you consider a position working here?"

And so began my weekly floor-cleaning of the Wei-Shin household. Apparently she was the manager of the servants of the house, which belonged to some noble I've never heard of. When she (Ms. Safu) told me how much I would be receiving as payment, I nearly died. Ten silver pieces! And she gave me twelve that day for accepting her offer! This made it a whole lot easier to pay rent, that's for sure. I shakily pulled my shoes on, amazed at my sudden good fortune. I could buy Ms. Hachiko some more groceries and Rin that satchel he wanted and maybe even a new place to stay.

Then I thought about how my ten silver pieces could have done all that and supported my family, were they still alive. The proceeding thought was of the fact that they were no longer alive.

I stepped out into the sunlight and the dark thoughts that frequented my head dissipated. The garden in this place was just spectacular, with an incredible view of the city. I've never appreciated organized plants so much before. Somehow the gardeners had achieved a tamed jungle sort of look, with bamboo stalks twice as tall as me and panda lilies at full-bloom. I walked through it to the gate, admiring the unique flowers and bushes on the way. Chouko was already waiting for me, her brown eyes following me through the courtyard. "I was beginning to think you'd left without me!" she exclaimed, pouting playfully and bumping my arm.

"Ms. Safu hired me," I said, taking her bag of books on my own shoulder while we walked down to the second ring. "I got paid a little extra today as well. So I'm considering taking you out to eat, but if I went alone I could eat your share as well…" I rubbed my chin teasingly, pretending to think hard about the decision before me.

"Oh! You cad!" She shoved me down the street some, laughing as I caught myself by bending particles of dirt around my legs. "Well, I wasn't going to accept your invitation for a date anyways!"

"Well then, what restaurant shall we not go on a date to?" I wrapped an arm casually around her shoulder, careful not to wrinkle her robe. Her tanned face was home to a sprinkle of freckles over her nose, and at this range I could see the flecks of gold in her pupils. Her smile is contagious and in no time I wore one myself. "I'm new to this ring, so I will trust your judgement in this matter, m'lady." I bowed facetiously before her, wrapping an arm in hers.

She glanced at me down her speckled nose and hummed thoughtfully. "Well, m'lord, there is a wonderful restaurant that serves an amazing chicken platter." She tugged me down a new street and into a shop with many windows, allowing natural light to fill the cream-coloured room. I knew that I should probably have been saving my money instead of spending half of it right away, but it could buy me so much more in the lower ring with just one piece, so I didn't worry about it too much. We ordered our food and I paid the ridiculously high price of four silver pieces for the both of us. She explained to me the mechanics of the back problem one of her clients had, eyes lighting up in excitement and hands gesturing around wildly as she spoke. It was rather fascinating to watch.

An hour later the sun has receded significantly into the west and my body had consumed more in that one day than in the whole week. It felt so unexpectedly amazing. It also hurt a little bit, but it was so worth it.

I walked Chouko to her house- a modestly gorgeous two-story house with wooden support beams and intricate geometrical carvings around the door and windows. She turned to me on the stoop under the doorway and rocked back on her heels. "Thanks for taking me out," she sighed contentedly. "Especially when I know it's not always this available to you."

I shook my head and leaned up to peck her cheek. "No worries."

She smirked at me playfully and waved as she walked behind the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Iwa." And then the door closed, leaving me to hum in pleasure for a moment by the archway.

When I turned to walk down to the gate, a flyer stuck to the wood of the public well caught my eye. My reading skills were not all that good, but there was no mistaking the detailed picture of a sky-bison. I made my way over to the paper, peering in concentration at the characters, trying my hardest to understand them. I skimmed through most of it until I found an address. It's on the way back to the gates anyways, and from what I could tell this bison had been lost. Maybe it had heard its master calling that night in the cave when I found him. He was trying to get back to the guy that posted these flyers.

I figured, the address isn't out of my way. Maybe I'll get a reward? Either way, I liked the furry guy. I might as well just go and give what information I have.

I took the flyer down and made my way to the house. The owner has to be pretty rich- it's one of the best residential houses available. I stepped under the small roof above the door, suddenly slightly self-conscious about my filthy cleaning-supply-soaked clothes. Oh well. I knocked three times on the beautifully carved wooden door and heightened my senses to feel movement from inside.

I thought for a moment that someone was home, but then everything stopped moving. Strange? I glanced down at the flyer again, squinting at the address. Perhaps I'd read it wrong. I wouldn't put it past my poor reading skills. I didn't want to intrude on privacy, but I was considering listening for heartbeats.

Suddenly footsteps made their way to the door, which flew open a second later. A tan-skinned, dark-haired male wearing water tribe clothes and a whale bone necklace peered at me with suspicious blue eyes. He leaned in to examine me, checking over my ratty appearance and half-shaved head, then what looked to be my feet, which I had some insecurities about, as they were a very ugly and scarred mesh of skin. I pulled back from him, wishing I wore the long robes of the higher-ranking artisans, like Chouko did. Then I wouldn't have been discovered by General Iroh and I wouldn't be stared at by this funny-looking, twig-thin water tribe boy.

"Who are you?" he asked once he was done scrutinizing me.

I shrugged and held out the flyer. "I saw this posted around the city, and I thought I could help a little- OOF!"

In a split second I was flat on my back in the courtyard with a bald-headed kid who looks no more than 12 sitting on me and squeezing the life out of me with the power of a thousand suns. I struggled for air a good five seconds before he sat back on my stomach, grey eyes simultaneously welling up with tears and full of excitement. The flyer, which had flown out of my hand on impact, fluttered down to my right. That's when I noticed the same arrow on the sky bison also curling over the kid's head. An airbender. Meaning this kid's the Avatar.

Tui and La help us all.

"You know where Appa is?" he yelled into my face. I flinched backwards, already regretting my decision to be nice for once. Mother of Faces, I think my shoulder popped…

I winced as I pushed him off, finding myself unable to move my arm meaning that yes, it is indeed dislocated. Without hesitation, I shove it back into place. Blood drips out of my mouth as I bite my tongue to keep down a scream.

In my haziness, I noticed the bald kid jumped off me, almost like he was flying, and apologized profusely. A water tribe girl with the same dark hair and blue eyes rushed over with a canteen. Behind her in the doorway I could see a short and scowling earth kingdom girl in simplistic but obviously well-made earth tribe clothing, who appeared to be blind. What a weird bunch these people are, I thought as the water tribe girl helped me into the spacious lounge area. I'd never been in one of these as a guest, only as "servant" or "boy".

"Let me help you with that," the girl said, bending the water from her pouch around her hands. She sat me down on a cushion on the floor before resting her hand on my shoulder gently but purposefully. Almost in the same instant, the area under her hands numbed. I sighed involuntarily in content. It felt so much like Chouko's chiropractic stuff. Is she going to charge me for this? I hope not. I mean, I have the money now, but that'll be all of it.

The blind girl stomped her way over to me with surprising ease and confidence. Her finger flew inches in front of my face. "Why couldn't I feel you coming?" she demanded. "You didn't have any footsteps, and I didn't feel a heartbeat."

By this point my whole body was completely relaxed so that I could barely react to her questioning. My head lolled forward and I groaned at the pleasant sensation running through my arm. This is the most disarming thing I've ever encountered. "I…" Focus on the question. Why what? My heartbeat or something. "My, um… My legs are weak, and I… I bend rock particles around them when…" C'mon, pull yourself together. The water bender is laughing at me while she does whatever she's doing to my shoulder. "When my legs get weak. Maybe I don't touch the ground, I don't really know."

The Avatar rushed in front of me, nearly shoving the blind girl out of the way. "Do you know where Appa is?"

I can only assume Appa is the sky bison. I shook my head, much to the air bender's dismay. "I saw him while outside the walls working. He was covered in dirt and grime, and severely dehydrated. I cleaned him up as best I could, got him some fresh water and a basket of apples, and hid him in a cave. In the middle of the night he wanted out, and he flew into the city somewhere like he heard something. That was five or six days ago."

The water tribe girl left tending to my shoulder to hug a depressed Avatar. "We'll find him, Aang," she said sadly. He struggled against tears, but luckily I was removed from the awkward situation when the blind earth bender stomped her way in front of me, followed closely by the water tribe male, still glaring with a gaze full of suspicion. "How do you do it? Controlling such small particles?" she asked before attempting to do so herself. Except she used my legs. Suddenly a thick layer of rock surrounded my calves and yanked my body up, bending my back in a painful twist.

I regained my balance and recovered from my surprise to huff unappreciatively at her smirk. "Actually, it's more like this." She jolted forward seemingly of her own volition, but yelped in shock when she fell to the side. It was my turn to smirk as I bended the rock off my legs.

"Alright guys, play nice." The male walked up to me and held a hand out begrudgingly. "The name's Sokka, and this is Toph." The earth kingdom girl stood and crossed her arms stubbornly. "That's my sister Katara, and Aang is the Avatar. Aapa was taken by some sand benders and sold here in the city, so we're here to search for him."

I shook his hand and introduced myself. "I'm Iwa. I'd be happy to help you search for your bison. I know the ins and outs of the city pretty well. In fact, I could take you to the black market auction in a few days. They sell a lot of animals illegally through the system. Your bison might be one of them."

So we agreed to meet the following morning to search for the sky bison. I just hoped that the Prince and the Avatar didn't cross paths… at least not while I was there to see it.


	4. Chapter 4

That day had started out completely fine.

I worked at the farm from before dawn to late afternoon, then delivered a few orders of food around the city. Finally the last thing on my list was only to collect the money for the month from the owners of the farm. If I had only walked fast enough, not stopped to give the homeless kid some silver, I would have made it home to eat. But instead…

"Iwa!"

The sun beat down on my back with a ferocity I had gotten used to over the years, the crowd was beginning to thin as shopping families and traders started slowing their pace to start homeward. I was one of them- a pocket of 24 silver pieces for the month, a satchel of rice and chicken curry I'd bought from a quick-meal shop about half an hour back. My stomach grumbled in anticipation for the quickly-cooling food. Then I had to hear that name said by that voice, and the many years of servitude ignited the fear of punishment in my gut and forced me to stop dead in my tracks in the midst of the moving people. Beads of sweat formed on my brow, partially from the heat and partially from nerves.

A few moments of huffing and puffing later and a thick hand on my shoulder and the man who had both killed my family and saved my life was standing behind me, closer than he had been in a long time. I turned to face him and it felt like a dream- surreal, fake, the lights too bright all of a sudden. He was as short as ever, a little pudgier around the waist and his beard longer than I remembered and greyer. Older. More burdened. I almost felt sorry for him. "Iwa, you must help me!" he said once he managed to catch his breath enough. My face remained steeled, just naturally on guard. "Zuko is sick and I need someone to watch him while I go buy herbs. I know how uncomfortable it may be for you, but I need to make sure that I get the correct leaves. I cannot pay you, but I hope you could please do this as a favour."

As soon as I nodded, his face lightened up, he patted me solidly on the back, and with a quick "The door's open," he pushed his way through the mass of bodies.

I stood there a minute longer, letting the reality of my speaking directly with the General sink in. And now I'm supposed to go babysit the Prince. Finally I released a sigh and turned back to make the trek to the tea shop. I guess my dinner would have to wait.

Maybe twenty minutes later I opened the backdoor to the shop and trudged up the stairs, dreading the interaction bound to take place.

I opened the door to the upstairs living area to find two temp beds on the floor, one of which was occupied. A mess of sweaty black hair that looked chopped by hand rested on the cloth pillow, the covers pulled back to reveal an ebony-white and muscly-lean back drenched in sweat. The silence in the room was encompassed by the bustling noise of outside, occasionally broken by a groan from the body in the bed. I gently shut the door and set my satchel down before walking ever-so-slowly towards the other end of the room to kneel down by the bowl of warm water. A wet rag hung on the edge, and a flashback to when Lu-Ten would get sick came to mind. We were in the same position as now- only this time he was replaced by a much more egotistical and violent human being. I subconsciously played with my fingers, contemplating the requirements of "watching Zuko". When he writhed in pain, I suddenly felt as though I were spying on him. He seemed to be asleep, but it felt wrong to be here while he wasn't aware I was here. Nothing I could do about it.

I sighed in defeat. "Again I'm catering to some prince," I muttered as I wrung the cloth out over the bowl. "I guess I'll always be doing it in some way or another." I wiped down the sweat on his face and chest as best I could, then set it down and leaned against the wall to wait out my babysitting session. After a moment of uncomfortable shifting against the tough wall, I bended the rock to the shape of my body and relaxed, closing my eyes to take a nap.

I'm not sure what time it was when I woke next, but the sun had long gone down from what I could tell through the window. Soft snores came from the second bed where the General lay in a house robe. I first wondered how long he had been here, then noticed that the sleeping arrangements were not very comfortable-looking. So I gently bended the rock of the floor up into a bed off the ground that bent to support their bodies in the best possible way. The prince groaned a little bit and flipped to lay on the opposite side. I forced myself up to scoot to the water bowl again. My cold food smells so good, I thought as I squeezed the majority of the water out of the cloth yet again. But there was no way I would eat in someone's home when I was supposed to be taking care of someone sick-

"I've heard about you."

I froze and looked down at the hazy boy before me. His dark eyes were clouded over and the sweat had reformed on his overheating skin. I didn't know what he was going to elaborate about his statement, but I suddenly felt very self-conscious about my previous station. I had only seen him maybe five or six times when they visited Lu-Ten and it's not likely that he would have noticed me, but either way my station was obviously miles below his. That life was long behind me, and I wasn't about to start it back up again. So I stopped him short. "I don't want to hear what you've heard," I said, surprised at how quiet my voice was. Probably from the sleep.

He actually kept his mouth shut. But he seemed to glare at me while I wiped him down. Then his eyes would wander around the room, across the ceiling, up my arms, and back to my face, only to repeat the cycle. He eventually saw the beds that had been created, but didn't comment. Once I finished, I grabbed my dinner and pulled it out of the bag, setting it up by his raised bed. He watched me the whole time, not questioning why I had this dinner ready, whose it was in the first place. The frustration grew when I bended the rock to sit him up and fed him the first bite. He just opened his mouth and took it. I hated this, this act of servitude, and the way he just accepted it like he was entitled to it. Like it's something he deserved. He finished and I packed up the empty bowls and plates, leaning his bed back again. I stood, deciding I was done here. I began feeling sick just remembering my old life.

"They weren't bad things."

My hand hovered over the doorknob when he muttered those words. But I didn't turn around. It's just his fever talking. So I left quietly while the General's snores continued echoing through the room.

The half-moon hung in the sky like an ornament, bright and almost blindingly white. The only creatures still out at this hour were the stray cats that either stalked the city rats or lazily waltzed up windowsills to sleep. I bended a thin layer of earth around my tired legs to control them instead of using the muscles that had begun to ache. Still another 15 minutes until I get home.

A shadowed figure stepped slightly out from around a nearby corner. I froze in my tracks, but relaxed my shoulders when I identified it. "Long time no see." I just continued walking past him, raising a brow when I saw a much shorter shadow and a tall, shaggy-haired swordsman beside him. "You brought your friends?"

"We need somewhere to stay for the night," the shorter guy said in a scratchy voice. The features were young enough to be interchangeably male or female, the voice to rough to tell. Longshot nodded his head in agreement, the hat casting a large shadow on the floor.

"Longshot said you might be able to house us for a little bit." The tall male stepped forward, twisting a cud between his teeth and smirking at me. I frowned when I recognized him and his cocky attitude. "He's the only one who sort of knew where you lived. Sorry that this is so out of the blue and this late at night, but we just arrived a while ago and have been roaming around trying to find you." He scratched the back of his neck, something I had once found attractive in a masculine way. Now I knew better. He was just bad news all around, and this was probably going to end poorly.

I sighed and shrugged, giving in just because I was too tired to rationalize myself out of it. And Longshot's pretty much as close to a friend to me as one could get. I guess I could do him a favour. "Man, I'm giving out a lot of favours tonight, aren't I?" I chuckled humourlously to myself. They trailed behind, cracking jokes about camp and updating me on the Freedom Fighters (though I had no interest in it whatsoever) and Jet making sure to get close to me during the walk back. I didn't join the conversation, feeling a little more dead than alive because I was so tired. I pulled open the hatch to my basement home and ushered them inside, quickly and haphazardly waving rock beds into existence before plopping onto my own. It was now pretty squished, but I couldn't care less at this point. I dropped the satchel off the side and almost immediately fell asleep, not bothering to change out of my dayclothes.

What an exhausting day.


	5. Chapter 5

I left before any of them had woken up that morning. Before pulling myself up through the hatch I bended the chest holding all my belongings into the ground, where it could not be rifled through by thieving Freedom Fighters. They had left during the night, and I wasn't sure why or when they came back, but they had all been exhausted. Jet was much paler, leaning against Longshot for help, and for a moment I worried that I should see if they needed help. But I was tired and needed to wake up early that morning. So if no one was dying, I was going to continue sleeping. The stray cats circled around my feet while I walked through alleyways to the market, reminding me that at some point today I had to buy more milk. The sun was almost up, so people had already started their days. Jet had never been one for early rising. I had a visit with the Avatar today in search for his bison, then I would have to go to the farm. When I had passed through the two gates and stood before the door to the beautiful guest home, I listened for heartbeats. They were all still moving rhythmically in time together to the same beat, slow and separated. But before I could sit down to wait for them to wake up, a giant fluffy beast I knew all too well bounded around the corner of the building and shoved me down to the ground with a magnificent roar of happiness. Those heartbeats weren't slow anymore.

"Hey big guy," I said, petting his massive head with the hand that wasn't trapped under a furry white body. He licked my face in response and roared again, his eyes squinting in delight. Ugh, he smelled like a wet wool blanket. My legs started to ache under the immense pressure. "Let me up, man." I bended myself out from under him, but almost immediately he barreled into my chest head-first and shoved me against the wall. A huge, pink, slimy tongue slid up my body relentlessly. "Hey!" I pushed against the arrow-headed skybison- experiencing a bit of claustrophobia- to no avail. I bended him away from me and created a ledge on the wall for me to sit on. He roared unhappily, planting himself under the ledge.

"Seems like Appa likes you." Katara tossed the bison an apple, which he caught haphazardly while still staring at me.

"A little too much," I grumbled, crossing my legs. This attention is very disliked. "Where'd you guys find him?"

The avatar stumbled out of the house along with a bed-headed Toph, who scowled at me while she rubbed at her eyes. It's already late into the morning. Laziness is not something I appreciate. It's haughty and allows for either the growth of pride or apathy and mental deterioration. "The king's advisor was working behind the king's back with the Dai-li doing all kinds of awful stuff. One of them was stealing Appa, so we couldn't leave. They were pretending there's no war, or something. We lost a friend while getting Appa back…" Here everyone kind of quieted down solemnly.

I shook my head. "I'd only heard about this. It's not too enforced in the lower ring, because there are just so many people. And the outer wall was just busted through the other day, so… Everybody down here is pretty much up-to-date on the situation, whether they like it or not. I'm sorry about your friend." I scratched the back of my head and glared back down at the earth bender. What's up her butt? She keeps frowning at me, like I'm the devil or something. And then I watched her pick her nose and flick the contents up at me. I stopped it no problem with some dust particles and shot it back onto her forehead. The smirk fell off her face pretty quick. "I'm not here for this," I sighed, jumping off my perch to the hard dirt below. I don't think anyone else knew what had just happened, judging by the confused looks on their faces, but I didn't care. It's too early for this stuff.

"Wait!" The water tribe boy stopped me with a hand to my shoulder. "We could kinda use your help. We'll need to navigate the city and-"

"Find me when you need me." I pushed him off and continued walking around them to the end of the alley in the direction of the gates. "I'm sure your sky bison will find me. Maybe when your teammate stops chucking the results of her bodily functions at me, I'll be a little more willing." Then I stepped out into the crowd and pushed her grimacing face out of my head while I left the upper ring.

No sooner had I stepped out the doors than the General and the Prince bumped into me around a corner. My day could not get any better. "Iwa! Again, perfect timing!" The General clasped his hands together in a pleading manner, which did not suit my memory of his greatness at all. "I have another favour to ask, although this time I can pay you. I've been given my own shop in the 3rd ring- and a hundred silver pieces to begin decoration and purchase tea! Will you help… Lee buy new tea leaves from your friend's shop?"

He didn't really wait for a reply, just waddled off while talking about the new tea set he'd seen recently. I stood frozen for a moment, heart racing at the close call. Had the Avatar followed me, or the Prince and the General passed through the gates minutes earlier…

"Are you alright?" The Prince placed a hand on my shoulder and turned me to him. I noticed he had become quite good at acting: his face expressed seemingly genuine concern, brow furrowed and lips pursed. This look didn't suit him at all. Concern was not something I had associated with him, and it made him look a bit strange. Maybe it's part of his under-cover thing while he's finding the Avatar? But other people are jerks too, it's not like it'll make much difference.

Either way I decided to play along, smiling and nodding. "I'm fine, thank you." I had to keep from tacking a "Your Highness" to the end of it. Right now we looked pretty suspicious just standing in the middle of the street, him holding me and myself obviously struggling with speech. He's wearing much finer clothes than he previously had been when I last saw him- simple but well-made, whereas mine had rips and weathered edges from years of reuse. "I'll take you to Rin's shop. How much tea do you need?"

He shrugged his shoulders and began to follow me, a smile again gracing his features. "I'm not sure. Uncle didn't really specify, except that he wanted some of everything."

The whole way through the city he just kept talking. I've never heard the Prince speak this much- especially about himself. His family, his sister (who I remember very well), his run-ins with the Avatar… He told me all about his time searching for him. Gaining his honour back. "I thought for a long time that I wanted to please my father, because he's my family." His expression turned solemn, much like I remembered it. "I also thought that family was flesh and blood- people I've grown up with. But… I think now family are the people who care about you enough to raise you, protect you, teach you. Maybe even die for you." He smiled sadly at me and stopped a few yards from our destination. "My father didn't raise me. But he taught me a lot. A lot of things I wish I hadn't learned."

Again he smiled, but this time more like he was trying to cheer himself up. "You're a great listener, by the way. Has anyone ever told you that?"

I shook my head and continued towards the stand where a thin crowd huddled, now thoroughly depressed. "I've never had a home like yours, but I can't imagine being thrown from it like you have been." What am I supposed to say? "Your life sounds horrible"? That wouldn't go over well.

I pulled Rin aside from the stand after acknowledging his busy parents working with demanding customers. "Rin, Lee has a rather large order for you. Would you mind helping us carry what he orders up to his new shop?"

His tired face lit up. "No problem! I need some time out of this tiny shop anyways." He, much like the Prince moments earlier, would not stop talking once he got going. He and the Prince conversed like long-time best friends. The Prince gave him the leftover 15 copper coins after his purchase of 12 huge boxes each of different teas, and the friendship was struck. I rolled my eyes at their banter and helped Rin tie three of the crates to his back while he rattled on about a nice tavern down in the main square of the lower level that he and "Lee" could hang out at sometime. The Prince seemed genuinely interested in the conversation. I've never known him to be so happy, especially when speaking about something as trivial as where to eat next.

I hefted the last four crates onto my shoulder and began walking without warning the two lovebirds, who just followed behind me without breaking their talk. Chipping wood dug deep into my bare shoulder, the sun beat down like a relentless slavedriver, and the crowd of people pushed the three of us like waves in an ocean. I've only seen the ocean once, but it was the most beautiful thing… Huge, vast, neverending water. So much water- but not for drinking. Found that out the hard way. I remember Dad telling me it's filled with salt, and it'll make you throw up. Of course, he only told me that after I'd already had some. I shuddered at the memory of the aftermath. Ugh. Disgusting. My sister laughed at me, called me a failing merman. Then the new term had to be explained to me- a fanciful man with the tail of a fish, rows of pearls draping his neck and a crown of shells. Her stories were always the best.

My mood entirely flipped, causing me to sigh. Luckily we had arrived at the new shop, apparently named "The Jasmine Dragon". "Uncle picked it out." The Prince's voice was full of pride as he gazed at the name carved of wood over the doorway we passed under. The inside was bare with the exception of a few new tables and chairs stacked haphazardly against the wall, waiting to be placed and eaten at. We followed him to the back room, which led to an upstairs and was lined with empty shelves and cupboards. I set my crates down and helped the Prince with his roped boxes, then Rin while they continued talking. "I have to go to work," I interrupted quietly.

They stopped for a moment to bid me goodbye. "I'll see you around, Iwa," Rin waved and smiled as always, bright and cheerful. While he started organizing the tealeaves, the Prince stepped a bit closer and I thought his hand hesitated for a moment, maybe almost as if he would place it on my shoulder.

But he scratched his neck instead and glanced at the ground. "Thanks for listening earlier," he whispered, looking back at Rin to make sure he wasn't paying attention. Then back into my eyes with his own gold circles. "It was relieving. I felt… great. I had a great time. And maybe we should just hang out next time? No work."

Now I was confused. He had no reason to spend time with me any more than when we worked together. Maybe he needs a favour. I don't know, but I can't reject the Prince. "Sure, anytime." I shrugged and started towards the exit. "You can stop by whenever, or ask Rin where I am. He knows, most of the time."

He nods, still staring at me as I leave. "Cool, cool." And then he sent me an awkward wave. "I'll see you around, then."

I nodded back, now feeling uneasy about breaking eye contact first. "Sure."

He laughed shakily, and quickly turned back into the kitchen. I just as quickly walked out of the shop back to the outer gates. My legs began to burn from the strain of all the walking I'd been doing.

My chest began to throb for reasons unknown.


	6. Chapter 6

Is all anybody ever does in this city just spill their life stories? That's all Katara's done since I've been showing her around the third level. Her Gran, her "seal-brained" brother, how she met the Avatar, all about their travels with the sky bison… The way she talks about him, looks at her feet when she mentions his name, it's obvious she's head over heels for the kid. I don't care! I have real-people problems like paying rent and eating enough to get through the day- stop talking!

Toph huffed next to me and crossed her arms while we walked. She hadn't chucked anything at me yet, but her disposition towards me still hadn't changed much. Katara asked about spas, if I knew where a good one was. I'm assuming by "good", she meant "most expensive". Toph didn't seem like the kind of girl who would want to go to one of those things, and she didn't look happy about it either. But Katara, ignorant of Toph's sighing and kicking the ground in frustration, babbled on about how she's never really been to one before but she's heard they're great, and she wonders how she'll get her hair done, what colour to paint her nails… "Ugh," Toph groaned, then punched me rather hard in my arm as if to relieve stress. "I don't really want to do this. As long as they don't touch my feet, I guess it's alright."

I didn't comment, just continued leading them there while they argued. "It's around that corner there, to the right and two shops down. I'm gonna head back." I glared at the undersized earthbender, who just smirked in my direction, and waved to Katara before turning left into the crowd. Whew. Good riddance. I can't imagine having to deal with that 24/7. Maybe that's why Toph's the way she is. If that's the case, I can't blame her.

"Iwa!"

I jumped at the sound of my name so close. The Prince stood right behind me, so that our heads hit when I turned around. He backed away and laughed nervously. "Sorry about that," he said, scratching the back of his neck. His eyes glanced at the ground, then at me, then away again. I made sure to keep mine focused downward, again a little uneasy knowing I was talking face to face with the Fire Lord's son. And we almost ran into each other while I was with Katara and Toph- which would have ended badly. "So, um… The other day you said you were up for… for hanging out sometime, so I was thinking today would be a good day for it, you know? It looks like it might rain later, but we could start now and do something before it happens, right? I still don't know my way around very well yet, but I figured you might know someplace good to go-"

He sort of faded out at the end and we just stood there for a moment awkwardly. He wants to just "hang out"? Maybe his uncle is forcing him. He was always very nice to me before… Whatever the reason, I might as well be nice back. "Um…" So what do we do? "Well, what kind of…" It was my turn to pause to think. "What did you have in mind?" Does he want to go to a restaurant? I hope not, I don't need to spend any more money right now.

An old woman and what appeared to be her seven grandchildren nearly knocked him over on their way through the crowd. "You young troublemakers get out of the street!" she growled, looking at the Prince.

"Yes, Mrs. Naka," I interjected, smiling at her youngest grandchild, Muro. He grinned back, flashing a new hole in his front teeth. "You finally got that one out, huh?" I asked, ruffling his hair.

He giggled and shook his head. "Tanaka knocked it out while we were wrestling yesterday," he said with a lisp.

"Oh, Iwa! I didn't realize it was you!" Mrs. Naka's wrinkled frown turned into a soft smile- then back to a scowl when she glanced at the Prince. "Make sure you keep this young man out of trouble. He looks like the type to get sucked in!" With one last suspicious once-over in his direction, she gathered her herd of children and disappeared in the throng of people.

"You sure know a lot of people around here," he commented.

I shrugged. "You do a lot of odd jobs, you get around, you know?" I glanced around the street at the different vendors. This is still the second level, so anything up here will be a little more expensive than the lower level. I still had to work sometime today as well, out on the farm. Maybe I could kill two birds with one stone… "Are you alright with leaving the city? Because we could get a picnic basket for a silver piece, and I have a farm I need to work on today. It's got a pretty good view up on the roof. If that was something you wanted to do."

He seemed rather relieved that I made the decision. "That sounds great. I could help with the work if you want."

"No, that's alright. It's not too bad." I think a former Prince of the Fire Nation would actually make it worse.

We got a basket, which he insisted on paying for, then walked to the far right of the outer wall where I normally left. He held a flame for light while I bended us through the rock. "They've stopped the drill the other day," I said into the silence. My voice sounded so small in our 4-foot rock cave. "A couple houses were destroyed, but other than that not much damage was done. They didn't find anyone in the thing."

"They definitely would have had an escape plan," he said behind me. "It could have been any number of generals in charge of the operation, but it sounds like something my sister would have cooked up. 'Just knock on the front door', kind of thing. It's so expected that it isn't, which is exactly the kind of stuff she likes to do."

We pondered the information for a moment in quiet. My muscles started to burn a little bit. I know I've trained well and effectively so that I don't get tired as quickly as others, so this tells me I'm not eating right. I guess with the extra money I've been getting, I should probably try to get some more meat and vegetables in my diet.

"You bend like a water bender."

"…Thanks?" What am I supposed to say to that?

"No, I mean…" We breached the other side, and I closed the cave behind us. He extinguished his light, blinking at the sudden brightness of the sun. I led him to the enclosed farm and bended us through the wall. He looked around the yard at the vegetables growing, setting his basket down. "It's unique. My uncle's mentioned something about sharing the methods of each type of bending a couple times before, but never in detail. What does it help you with?"

I slipped my shirt off, throwing it to the side by the shed with my shoes, and pulled my pants up to my knees. I bended the shed open and took out the tools, leaning on them while I thought about my answer. "Well… It's hard for me to do the heavy lifting that earth bending requires. So water bending helps me redirect the earth using natural gravitational forces rather than my own strength. Being fluid and working with the rock is both better defense and offense than using pure force against it." The sweat started at the top of my brow, the back of my neck. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail to get it off my back. "You might actually be able to get a lot more done that way, most of the time. That's how they should've taken care of the drill. Just shift the earth beneath, don't hit it head-on."

Absentmindedly I bended an overhang to create some shade for him. Then I got to work, pulling up the carrots that were ready and tilling the fresh land. He set up the food in the shade and leaned against the wall. "What's the tattoo?" he asked, starting a fire for the small tea set. His yellow eyes strayed ever-so-often to me while he lit the fire. "If I'm allowed to ask."

I stopped for a moment to pull my hair away from the skin. His eyes widened in recognition. "I don't know if it's still the custom, but all servants of the Fire Lord's household are marked with the Imperial Firecrown. It's not a tattoo, it's a brand. Got it when I was taken in by your father and your cousin." My attention went back to the earth, which I bended while I worked at it with the hoe.

"…Wow. I'm sorry." His voice was quiet, only the clinking of the teapot attacking the silent environment.

"No hard feelings. It's not like you did it, and a bunch of other people've gone through it too. It wasn't that bad anyways." He probably feels bad about it only because he's never really thought about it before. But no worries, it's just part of the business.

He asked questions about what I'd been doing since then, and we struck up a conversation while I worked. I told him about my family, my life before the attack. Then about traveling to Ba-Sing-Se alone, working doing whatever I could to get by each day. He told me about the duel with his father, the memories of his mother, his "stupid, perfect little sister", and his amazing uncle. He also briefly mentioned Lu-Ten, but apparently they didn't know each other very well. By the time I finished, the sun was low in the sky and covered with dark storm clouds. I welcomed the rain that started to drizzle, cooling my overheated body. Once the tools were safely in the shed, I plopped down by the Prince in the shade and put my shoes and shirt back on. Man, my legs ache so bad. He offered me a plate of food just as my stomach erupted in a deep growl. Mm, fried rice and vegetables, jasmine tea, and giant mochi. Yum. When was the last time I had mochi? I should save some of it for later…

"Was this ok? For hanging out, I mean?" I took another long sip of tea and a huge bite of mochi. "You pretty much just watched me work all day-"

"No, I had a good time. It was fun just talking." He caught the last of his rice in his chopsticks and set his empty plate in the basket. His breath stopped short for a minute and he fiddled with his sleeve. I felt his heartbeat quicken. "You know, my uncle talks about you a lot. I think he feels better knowing you're safe and doing well. He's said he would love if you worked at the tea shop. We have an extra room upstairs, or there are nice apartments a couple of streets away."

I smiled, but shook my head. "Tell him thank you for the offer, but I'm fine. I just got a good job up in the third ring, and I might be able to get a better apartment in the second ring if I want. But I've got friends in the lower ring that I don't want to leave behind." Ms. Hachiko wouldn't be able to take care of herself if I left her.

The Prince jumped at the sound of thunder rolling through the sky, and the rain seemed to intensify with it. I stuffed down a laugh and turned the other direction so he couldn't see me smile. He frowned and crossed his arms, huffing out a sigh that reminded me quite a bit of Toph. "I'm not scared of thunder," he said. "It just surprised me, that's all."

"I believe you," I chuckled, stowing my dishes in the basket and tying it closed. "Is there anywhere else you wanted to go today?" I almost forgot that I was talking to a prince and not a good friend. "There's a nice garden tour in the third level, but like everything nice and everything on the third level, it's pretty expensive."

"Maybe we can go another time, after the shop's all set up and some money starts coming in." He shrugged his shoulders and stood, helping me up by my arm. Realizing he was touching me skin-to-skin, he released me a bit sheepishly, nervously glancing around through the rain. "Maybe from now on, we can hang out as a little more than friends?"

He wouldn't meet my eyes. Just stared at the ground.

…Wait, what?

The Prince of the Fire Nation, the son of the Firelord, the heir to the throne, and he's standing in the rain in a sorry excuse for a farm asking to be "a little more than friends" with a used-to-be servant of the Fire Nation and now-poor-worker living in a hovel in Ba-Sing-Se?

"…Woah," I broke the awkward tension. In pure shock. Just wow.

He hurried as if to fix a mistake. "I mean, we don't have to. I'm just… just feeling things, thinking things, and I thought maybe I should… say something, you know?"

I never thought anyone would want to approach me like this, or that I would have the time to partake in this kind of stuff anyways. I think with Chouko she's only testing the waters. We're just close friends. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't marry me. She's suited to marry someone rich, someone in power. Someone who can support her family. But now it's happening to me. Am I "feeling things" too? Maybe. I wasn't really feeling things with Chouko, although I love her very much. Whatever I'm feeling for the Prince is… different. Something new. "I think that sounds like a good idea," I answered slowly. "I don't want to lead you on, so I'm going to tell you straight out that I know next to nothing about this stuff. This may end up not working out. You know that, right? I don't want it to make things difficult if that happens."

"Sure!" He nodded solemnly. "I'll get it if you say it's not working. I promise."

"Great."

We stood again in awkward silence for a minute. He fumbled with the basket handle, eyes downward. On a spontaneous burst of confidence, I gripped him with one hand by his upper arm and kissed him. Short and sweet, our chapped lips pressing together for several seconds. But when I pulled back and opened my eyes, he looked like I'd just told him he owned a goldmine. Something indeed stirred in the pit of my stomach, a flurry of butterflies just as a streak of blinding white lightning illuminated his scarred face.

"I…" He stopped short, searching for words.

"We can do more of that later, if you want." I bended a hole through the wall and pushed the overhang back into the surface. "But right now I want to get out of this rain."

He followed me quietly back through the tunnel. The pounding of his heart resonated in the small cavern, his fire casting eerie shadows on the walls. We breached the other side, just barely missing the inside of a house. Wouldn't that have been awkward? I closed the hole behind us and turned to face him. "Should I walk you home? I know you can handle yourself, but there are a lot of not-nice people in the lower ring."

He shook his head, seemingly out of his trance, and extinguished his fire. "No, I'll be good. I don't want you walking all the way back in the rain. Maybe come over for tea sometime this week? Then we can head to the garden you were talking about."

"Sounds like a plan," I said, subtly bending earth particles around my legs to help support myself. They were feeling pretty weak from working the farm. "See you then?"

He leaned in and pecked my lips for a little longer than I had, confidence restored. His golden eyes gleamed in the dark. "See you then."


	7. Chapter 7

A few days had passed since the avatar informed me that they would be splitting up briefly to complete personal business. Aang dropped Sokka off at his father's war camp before heading to an air temple to study under a guru there. Toph left to meet her parents, and Katara stayed to advise the Earth Kingdom on war strategies for the upcoming Day of Black Sun. I remained her companion while she was here. She tried to convince me to remodel her temporary home for her… A built-in steam bath, a backyard pool. I think she thought that was supposed to be "bonding time".

When she asked about the best tea shops, I made sure to leave out the Jasmine Dragon.

Whenever he could, Zuko visited me. He walked me to work and back, even early in the morning, and ate meals with me. I enjoyed it and ate at the tea shop whenever possible- a little less obviously desperate than Zuko, of course. He talked quite a bit while with me, and often I found myself speaking more than I normally do. He taught me fire bending moves, and I taught him to use the water bending style.

One afternoon when I went to the palace to retrieve Katara, she didn't show up. I waited for a while, skeptical of the situation. She would have let me know if she were going to be late- maybe sent Momo with a message. But there wasn't much I could do. The guards wouldn't let me pass without her vouching for me, even though they know I'm with her anyways. Perhaps she's talking to the Kiyoshi Warriors she was so excited about.

"Iwa! How are you?"

I turned from the palace to see Zuko and his uncle walking up the many stairs. General Iroh waved with one hand as the other held pottery and tea supplies. Zuko walked a little more swiftly to meet me. "Uncle's been invited by the King to serve tea. We're on our way now." By this time he stopped in front of me. His body leaned toward mine as if to hug me, or plant a kiss on my cheek, but he stopped himself. I'm glad. The General might have been nice to me in my younger years, but there's no telling how he would react to having his nephew and heir to the throne of the Fire Nation in a relationship with a nobody like myself.

"Do you mind if I accompany you inside?" I wiped some beads of sweat from my brow. The sun was extremely relentless today. "I'm waiting for someone and need to make sure she's alright."

"Of course!" He made to hold my arm, but before he could I took the tea things from the General's hands. "Allow me to carry these for you," I said stiffly, my heart pounding. What did he think he was doing? Zuko pouted at me and I nodded pointedly at his uncle. He rolled his eyes and walked as closely to me as possible on our way inside.

We were escorted to the throne room where I helped them set up. Katara should be here… What could have gone wrong in the Palace though? It's completely secure at the heart of the city.

Just as these comforting thoughts crossed my mind, the Dai Li surrounded the three of us in the center of the room, their faces shadowed by the circular headgear. A woman in battle clothes and war paint of some kind I'd never seen stepped before the throne. My muscles tensed, and so did Zuko's beside me. Something obviously isn't right.

"It's tea time." The woman spoke, and immediately I recognized her voice as Azula's. I had only encountered her a few times as a child when she visited General Iroh's estate in the palace. She was cruel even in her younger years. My throat tightened at what this could mean. Why was she here? Why are the Dai Li under her control? What have they done with the earth King?

"Have you met the Dai Li? They're earth benders, but they have a killer instinct that's so fire bender." She picked absentmindedly at her nails. I knew the Dai Li to be violent when necessary. Some "peace-keepers" they were. The villagers called them "Chi Magure" behind their backs.

The General stood with a cup of tea. "Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname 'The Dragon of the West'?"

Just the mention of that title sent shivers down my spine and gave me a cold sweat. I had been at the receiving end of the "Dragon" years ago. I watched him burn my village to the ground. Haunted memories filled my head and I froze, unable to move. Instead of an ostentatious throne room I saw a crumbling roof trapping my friends to the ground. I saw the blue sky stained with vicious hues of reds and skin twisted in the flames. I saw my parents flatten under wooden beams and choke on the smoke of our burning house.

A hand roughly pulled me to the ground, just in time. Half a second later, the familiar roar of blazing fire resounded through the room. Dai Li soldiers fell to the ground, but I shut my eyes. Zuko held me firmly with two hands on each arm, until the General had finished his attack and we raced from the room. It all happened in seconds, but by the time we reached the hallway I had regained my composure.

The General jumped out of the palace after blasting a hole in the side of the wall. Zuko hesitated, and I waited beside him. I still have to find Katara. She can't be safe anymore. "I'm leaving to find a friend," I whispered. For some reason it felt too important to break the little quiet we had. "Be safe." Here I pulled him away from the opening, away from his uncle's eyes, and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. It just felt like the right thing to do. Like we'd never see each other again after this moment. And it broke my heart.

He must have felt it too. "I'll meet back up with you," he reassured me. "We'll find each other outside the city somewhere. Don't worry."

It surprised me how attached I'd become to him.

I raced in the opposite direction. Lord knows where I was going, just away from fire and holes in the wall and the General's shouts. Katara. I hope she's ok. She has to be around here somewhere, unless they've already killed her.

When I no longer heard fighting- or anything really, I slowed to a stop in a dark hallway and took a deep breath. Just focus. I solidified my stance and calmed my heartbeat. Listen for footsteps, breathing, echoes. It's the only way you're getting out of this maze.

Behind me and to the left were Zuko and the Dai Li. Outside the General made is way around the building away from me. Below the palace I was surprised to find a large cavernous space with a waterfall, stalactites, and a few people. Someone was currently tunneling down to it quickly, meaning he was an earth bender. He and whoever walked with him were not taking the main entrance, meaning they probably didn't know where it was. So they're not Azula's agents. If one of the people stuck in the cavern is Katara, I can safely assume the tunnelers won't hurt her. Maybe they're even saving her.

Alright already, where is the King? Since Katara's probably, maybe, most likely 80% OK, my next plan of action should be protecting the King. The Kiyoshi warriors are tasked with protecting him, but now it turns out they're actually Fire Nation… My head spun with all this information. They must be trying to capture the kingdom from the inside. I felt my stomach turn. Commanding this nation would be a great advantage in the war. Commerce and trade, amazing defenses, plenty of citizens to force into soldiers…

I pushed those thoughts away. Right now just get to the King. Warily I left the building, welcoming the warm air against my skin. From the outside, nothing seemed amiss. Guards still kept watch at the gates to the palace. Members of the upper ring conversed, laughed in the sunset, enjoyed the comforts of their uber-rich and spacious homes while inside the palace took place events that change the course of the war. The moment I stood there lasted nonexistent minutes as I just breathed. Like the last of the bread before days of starvation until the next food source shows up.

The moment ended abruptly when a large, white, furry ball of heat slammed me into the ground. "Appa!" The beast responded by licking me profusely. "That was extremely rude. Where's Aang? Why isn't someone with you?" He just grunted while still licking me. I bended him away from me and rubbed the air-bison-saliva off my clothes as best as possible. "What should we do, hm? The Dai Li are now working for Princess Azula, who's been disguised as a Kiyoshi warrior. Zuko and the General are escaping, so that's my two most important people taken care of. The King has probably been taken hostage and is safe in the dungeons somewhere. I can feel a massive fight happening in those underground tunnels. The rest of the gang are probably down there." The whole time Appa just looked at me with intelligent brown eyes like he was listening. "I guess it's probably better to go help them. That way you're there for a quick escape just in case."

He growled and moved toward me eagerly. "No offense, but I don't want to ride you. Can you just follow me?"

So he rather unhappily flew above me as I ran through the streets, using dirt to control my legs. First we stopped quickly at their temporary home to gather their things. I had a feeling they wouldn't have time to retrieve them later. With Appa's saddle now loaded, I led us to the side of the mountain not far from the palace where I felt the fighting.

Just as I saw a man-made entrance leading into a steep incline through the mountain, an enormous surge of energy shook the mountain. It reverberated through my bones, shaking my very core. What on earth was that? Standing very still after the phenomenon finished, I could feel a small group running back up the tunnel to the surface. Hopefully they were friendly. Just in case I prepared to close the tunnel, but from the dark the band of Avatar-accompanying travelers emerged. Said Avatar didn't look so hot. Katara actually had to carry him to the sky-bison, not even acknowledging my presence or the fact that I had arranged for this getaway. Slowly I began to realize that Katara was crying. And then that I couldn't feel Aang's heartbeat.

"We'll fly to the outside of the city," Sokka broke the tension with a glum sense of leadership about him- stoic and tired. "The King says there's a small village that we'll be safe at for a day or two. Just to recuperate and… think things over. Iwa, can you safely transport Bosco there? If you get lost, we'll send Appa to find you."

Only then did I see and bow to the King, who didn't even notice in his grief. This must mean the city has been lost to the Fire Nation. My mind reeled at this information. I'm not sure how the world will survive now. The Avatar is dead, the biggest Earth Kingdom is in the hands of the Fire Nation… "I'll head to the village with the bear," I restated, mainly to keep my mind focused. "He is safe with me, Your Highness."

They flew off in strange silence, so opposite of the tumultuous emotions hanging in the air. Bosco seemed to have no sense of these emotions and happily nuzzled into my back. His ignorance somewhat calmed me, brought me back to earth. "What an odd looking animal you are," I whispered, ruffling the thick chocolate fur of his head. I blocked the tunnel and began our descent down the mountain, away from the city. "C'mon, buddy. We can't stay here all night. You'd better be a good replacement for my cats. I'm gonna miss those guys."

My brain could finally acknowledge the question probing at the back of my mind since the beginning of the revolt: I wonder if Zuko is safe.


End file.
